Saturday, August 04, 2012

BEER: HAANDBRYGGERIET Sweet and Sour

It has been a while since I got my beertalk on around here. I suppose I've just been so busy not posting about other things that it has trickled through the cracks.

Another, more likely reason, is that I've been I've been sucked in by the immediacy of Untappd. For those not in the know, Untappd is a combination of Foursquare and Facebook, but for beers. Drink a beer, check it in, write a tweet-sized review and wait for random people to toast your choice. All that in the time it took to even think about writing a blog post about it.

I'm also a big fan of it because the data analyst in me loves knowing how many beers I've had, how many unique ones I've had and how long it took me to have them. So far, all signs point to me being a raging alcoholic.

Anyway, if you're a beer fan I recommend getting the app. If you're already on there, why not add me as a friend or some shit.

So, this beer.

HaandBryggeriet are four Norwegian guys from Norway (authentic) that seemingly get together when they feel like it and fuck around and make whatever type of beer they want. Thankfully, the beers are, generally, awesome.

This time, they felt like making a sour beer with a sweet edge and then chucking it in some French oak barrels for a lazy 18 months.

As soon as you pour it, being careful to negotiate the stream of froth, and the first slash hits the side of the glass, the sour smell crashes into your nose. It's not a harsh sourness like some of the bigger Cantillons or Belgians, but there's no escaping the tartness.

The sweetness on the palate is, thankfully, not artificial like with so many other sour beers. It's used sparingly and really only to help the first sip go down easily. It quickly dissipates and brings the sour to the fore, along with some herbal, woody and dark berry notes. The finish has a little medicinal/paracetamol kick that isn't great, but isn't too offensive.